Bearing retaining cages retain bearings such that the bearings are held in place but are allowed to freely rotate. Generally, the cages are circular or linear. In this manner a bearing cage may be used to hold bearings in alignment with one another and to keep the bearings separate from one another so that they do not rub against one another. The bearings may be contained between an inner and outer race to facilitate relative movement of one about the other. Bearing cages may also include a protruding member for alignment in a slot along a race to align the bearings and to limit their movement in a direction perpendicular to the slot.
Examples of bearing retaining cages include those as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,018,324 to Kempster; 2,016,526 to Tyson; 3,980,359 to Weatherbee; and 5,154,401 to Schramm. The bearing cages as disclosed in these patents and as otherwise known in the art, however, have in common heretofor unresolved problems.
Such bearing retaining cages may be difficult to install, particularly if they are circular and include a protruding member for insertion into a slot on one of the inner or outer races. Such retaining cages are typically snap fit into place. Snap fitting of the cages, however, can lead to failure of the retaining cage or of the protruding member.
Also, as many different bearing applications exist, it is required to manufacture bearing retaining cages of many different sizes. For instance, a given diameter race will require a retaining cage of that diameter. Further, for applications having a race that is not circular shaped but is instead oval or otherwise features an oddly shaped race, bearing retaining cages as presently known may not be appropriate.
There is therefor an unresolved need in industry for an improved bearing retaining cage.